Prior to the present invention, there has been a need for a fast acting, easy to use and controllable hand held appliance for cutting, slicing, chopping and mincing foods, such as vegetables, fruits, etc.
While existing food processors may be desirable for many larger tasks, they are not as convenient for small tasks, such as cutting a few cucumbers or tomatoes. Also, food processors can not peel, e.g. vegetables and fruits, and are not useful in cutting or slicing bread. Further, food processors generally are relatively costly.
On the other hand, manual knives and peelers are not as quick or convenient as automatic appliances, and commonly do not provide the desired effortless control for slicing and peeling.
Moreover, existing automatic knives and the like have not filled the void. For many food products, such as vegetables and fruits, they are not particularly fast acting or easy to use and do not produce the desired results, e.g. thinly sliced vegetables and fruits.
Thus, existing means for slicing, peeling and the like are beset with drawbacks and have not met the persistent need for a relatively inexpensive, hand held automatic appliance which can quickly, easily and controllably slice, peel etc.